An analysis of changes to the climate that occur over several decades suggests that these changes are happening faster than historical levels and are starting to speed up. The Earth is now entering a period ...

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have developed a new family of methods to significantly increase the speed of time-resolved numerical simulations in computational grand challenge problems. ...

Not present when the reaction starts or ends, the driving force behind turning poisonous carbon monoxide into a benign form is a single atom that appears in the heat of action, according to scientists at ...

Collisions between galaxies, and even less dramatic gravitational encounters between them, are recognized as triggering star formation. Observations of luminous galaxies, powered by starbursts, are consistent ...

Particles emitted during major volcanic eruptions cool the atmosphere due to a 'parasol' effect that reflects sunlight. The direct impact of these particles in the atmosphere is fairly short, lasting two ...

The construction of model quantum systems or simulators that can reveal hidden insights into other, less accessible quantum states requires paying attention to interactions normally overlooked by most theories, ...

Matter is composed of atoms, and its physical properties are determined by the complex interactions between atoms and electrons. Theoreticians use quantum mechanics to calculate the forces between atoms, ...

Los Alamos National Laboratory mechanical and thermal engineering researchers' efforts to solve the complex problem of how ocean currents affect the infrastructure of floating oilrigs and their computational ...

Experimental analysis and computer simulations reveal new insights into the process by which ethanol produced from waste biomass can be converted into hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst. These insights ...

Researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, are the recipient of NVIDIA's 2015 Global Impact Award for their collaborative work in developing an accelerated ...

An international team of researchers has shed light on the molecular mechanism behind the importance of water for functional protein dynamics. The scientists have discovered that water's ability to flow on the ...

Simulations of impressive landscapes and alien creatures have become commonplace, especially in fantasy and science fiction films. But simulations are also appearing in ever more medical and engineering applications. ...

Manufacturers conduct virtual tests on vehicle designs long before the first car rolls off the assembly line. Simulation of the tires has remained a challenge, however. The software tool "CDTire/3D" from ...

Simulation

Simulation is the imitation of some real thing, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system.

Simulation is used in many contexts, including the modeling of natural systems or human systems in order to gain insight into their functioning. Other contexts include simulation of technology for performance optimization, safety engineering, testing, training and education. Simulation can be used to show the eventual real effects of alternative conditions and courses of action.

Key issues in simulation include acquisition of valid source information about the relevent selection of key characteristics and behaviours, the use of simplifying approximations and assumptions within the simulation, and fidelity and validity of the simulation outcomes.